Schafer disappointed with draw

Geremi was very close to making it 2-0

Cameroon coach Winfried Schafer said he was disappointed his side did not take all three points from their encounter with the Republic of Ireland in Niigata.

Reaction from the Irish camp

The Indomitable Lions were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw after being outplayed for much of the second half, despite going in at half time 1-0 up thanks to Patrick Mboma.

"I was happy with our first half performance but in the second half Ireland put us under a lot of pressure and we must be satisfied with the draw," Schafer said.

"Both sides should be happy with the result."

Full match report

But he said he felt that the match had hinged on a miss by Geremi on 51 minutes that could have secured it for his side.

Barely a minute later Matt Holland scored the equaliser for Ireland.

"It should have been 2-0," Schaffer said.

Like Senegal, Cameroon celebrated with a dance

"We then made a mistake and were punished for it.

"You should never underestimate Ireland but we were very nervous in the second half," he added.

"Now I must build up the team's morale again for the Saudi Arabia game as they are disappointed with the result after leading 1-0."

Striker Samuel Eto'o, who had been instrumental in setting up Mboma's goal, agreed with Schafer's analysis.

"In the first half we played very well but in the second half it all went wrong," the Real Mallorca striker said.

"One point is better than nothing - but we've got to win our next match against Saudi Arabia."

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